This invention relates to an embroidering tool for use in forming loops of yarn or other material in a basic fabric.
Embroidering tools of the kind contemplated herein have a tubular needle which is mounted at one end of a finger manipulatable holder therefore. The holder has a passage which communicates with the proximal end of the needle so as to accomodate movement of a length of yarn through the holder and into the needle passage or hollow during use of the tool. The distal end of the needle is equipped with a laterally opening eye that communicates with the needle passage and here the yarn length is threaded through the eye and passes from the needle passage to the exterior of the needle during use of the tool.
In practice, the distal end of the needle is inserted in the back side of the basic fabric and from whence it passes to a point offset from the front side of the fabric before being thereafter withdrawn. Upon initial penetration of the basic fabric, the yarn at the exterior of the needle eye is frictionally engaged by the basic fabric material. As the needle is passed further through the fabric, the yarn length is pulled downwardly through the handle passage and needle passage until such time as the full hilt of the needle insertion is realized. Thereafter, as the needle length is withdrawn, a loop is formed at the front side of the basic fabric. As the eye containing distal end portion of the needle is withdrawn from the fabric, the fabric material closes in about the yarn at the opposite ends of the length portion of the yarn forming the loop so that the loop is thereafter maintained and frictionally held in place by the fabric material that surrounded the needle at the point of insertion and withdrawal. In practice, the insertion and withdrawal procedure is repeated with each point of insertion in the basic fabric being, in most cases, in an area which is proximate to the point of the previous withdrawal of the needle from the basic fabric. U.S. Pat. No. 2,565,135 (Kittener), U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,458 (Samoliov), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,510 (O'Brien) show typical prior art embroidering tools that employ a hollow needle through which the yarn is drawn during use and further illustrate the procedures involved in the use of such tools. Other embroidering tools and procedures are shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos: 1,912,977 (Geerhart), 3,240,176 (Morrison), and 3,938,452 (Windall).
It will be appreciated that the size of the loop formed at the front side of the basic fabric is determined by the depth of penetration of the needle during use. This is normally determined in those embroidering tools that have a needle and holder which are relatively fixed by the location of the needle eye with respect to the adjacent end extremity of the holder. The adjacent end of the holder in such cases serves as a stop that engages the back side of the basic fabric and serves to limit the depth of needle penetration and thus the size of the loop formed during use. To shorten the depth of penetration and thus provide an element of variance in the sizes of the loops formed by such tools, small sleeve elements that fit over the needle are frequently provided by the tool manufacturers. These sleeve elements are of differing lengths and to decrease the depth of penetration, an appropriate sleeve length is selected for placement on the needle in abutting relation to the adjacent end extremity of the holder. The sleeve tightly fits on the needle and during use, the end of the sleeve which is offset from the end extremity of the holder serves to stop the advancement of the needle into the basic fabric to determine the depth of penetration and thus the size of loop formation.
In some types of embroidering tools of the hollow needle type, provisions are made for adjusting the location of the needle along the axis of the holder so that in effect a means is provided for adjusting the distance between the stop forming end extremity of the needle holder and the eye at the distal end of the needle. The Kittener, Samaloiv and O'Brien patents are illustrative of embroidering tools that are provided with adjustable needle capabilities.
One objection to known embroidering tools with adjustable needle capabilities is the inconvenience involved in making the adjustments. In some cases the tool parts must be disassembled and thereafter reassembled to make an adjustment. Yet another objection is to the inconvenience and often uncertainty in duplicating needle adjustments. In some tools there are no convenient provisions for indexing the adjustment to the depth of penetration of the needle and as such, a trial and error approach to duplicating a previous adjustment is often resorted to.
One main objection to known embroidering tools with adjustable needle capabilities resides with the manufacturer and involves the excessive costs that are required for manufacturing the known designs. Most embroidery tools of the kind contemplated are used for fine and delicate decorative embroidery work, and require the use of a hollow needle that is usually less than about 2 mm. in diameter. Tubular components of this size are incapable of withstanding large lateral pressures without being damaged and are not capable of low cost modification to solely supply the market demand for tools of the kind contemplated. As such, current manufacturers have resorted to the use of low cost cannulation needle assemblies which are currently being supplied to the medical field for use as components of devices and assemblies that are used in injecting and/or withdrawing fluids from the bodies of humans and other animals. Typical of such devices and components are those used in making hypodermic injections and withdrawing blood specimens in the subcutaneous tissues of the body. Such needle assemblies are being mass produced in such large quantities for the medical professional as to permit their modification for use as relatively inexpensive components for such embroidery tools. The Samiliov patent is representative of one such use of a cannulation needle assembly in an embroidering tool and wherein the assembly before incorporation and use in the tool structure may be simply modified by providing an appropriate eye at the distal end of the needle. Unfortunately, the use of such needle assemblies has been found objectionable by certain governmental bodies and agencies because the tools can be disassembled and the cannulation needle assemblies thereafter used as drug paraphenalia by unauthorized drug users. The need accordingly exists for a structural arrangement in a tool of the type contemplated herein that permits the use of a modified cannulation needle assembly but nevertheless effectively precludes the subsequent use of the modified assembly for such unauthorized purposes.